Race Colors Judgement Essay

The criminal justice system in the United States is one of the many places that I believe stereotypes are formed. For example, African-Americans make up only 13% of the U. S. population but represent 46% of the inmate population who have received sentences of more than one year (Hart, 2006, p. 1). Another example of a racial disparity can be seen the percentage of African-Americans who are drug users (14%) and those sentenced for drug offenses (53%) (Sentencing Project, 2009 p. 3). More African-American men are in prison or jail, on probation or parole then were enslaved in 1850, before the Civil War began,† (Alexander, 2010). However, this is not just a problem within the African-American community. More than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities and three-fourths of all persons in prison for drug offenses are people of color (www. sentencingproject. org). The Bureau of Justice Statistics shows, that the likelihood for an African-American or Hispanic to be imprisoned is, 18. % for African-Americans and 10% for Hispanics, while the likelihood for Whites is 3. 4% (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005). Brennan and Spohn (2009) showed in their study, â€Å"The Joint Effects of Offender Race/Ethnicity and Sex on Sentence Length Decisions in Federal Courts†, that African-American males received a significantly longer sentence (93 months) than White males (86. 2 months) (Brennan & Spohn, 2009). These are just some of the numbers, which cannot be ignored. An important question to ask; why are these racial disparities happening? In the study â€Å"White juror bias: An investigation of racial prejudice against Black defendants in the American courtroom†, Sommers & Ellsworth (2001) have a quote, which, I think, sums up the reasoning for studying race and its effect on juries, it came from one of my favorite movies: â€Å"In our courts, when it is a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life†¦The one place where man ought to get a square deal is a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into the jury box† (From To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee, 1960, p. 20). The thinking by many social psychologists is â€Å"Racism still exists in our society today but is no longer endorsed by explicit racist beliefs or overt acts of prejudice† (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). Instead it’s a â€Å"Subtle, implicit, or aversive form of racism† (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). Whites in our society are taught to embrace egalitarianism (equality) and make a conscious effort to behave non-prejudice, or have non-bias beliefs. However, that does not mean that they still don’t harbor prejudicial attitudes. In a trial setting aversive racism and race salience, or racially charged vs. racially neutral, go hand and hand. Studies have concluded, a trial that is racially charged reminds jurors of their egalitarianism, but in a trial not racially charged a jurors’ motivation to avoid being prejudice is not triggered; instead they demonstrate their racial bias (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2001). It is the run of the mill trials where juror biases are displayed. White jurors need to be â€Å"reminded† that they should not have a bias. By â€Å"reminding† them, by a racially motivated incident, jury voir dire, jury instructions before deliberation, and others, White jurors are less likely to demonstrate racial bias towards an African-American defendant. Jury composition or heterogeneity vs. homogeneity groups, is theorized to be a huge factor in overall group decision-making skills. This is especially important in the jury decision-making process and verdicts because minorities are underrepresented on a jury. Sommers’s study â€Å"Racial Diversity and Group Decision Making† (2006) concluded, a jury, which has heterogeneity, rather than homogeneity considers a wider range of perspectives and information (Sommers, 2006). It was the diversity of the group influence on the White juror more than the performance of the African-American juror in the group (Sommers, 2006). This is not to say that the African-American juror did not perform well. Since many juries are not racially diverse, Whites on a jury may forget their egalitarian values, may not consider a wider range of perspectives and information, and will spend less time on their decisions. In-group bias is when people show a strong preference for fellow in-group members and tend to malign out-group members (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2000). Thomas Pettigrew, current Research Professor of Social Psychology at the University of California, in his 1979 study demonstrated that negative behaviors of in-group members were attributed to situational forces but negative behaviors of out-group members were attributed to inherent dispositions, which is the opposite from positive behavior attribution (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2000). This is a particularly important theory because juries for criminal trials are taking in facts pertaining to the negative behavior of a defendant who is either from their in-group or out-group. Systematic information processing is conceptualized as â€Å"Comprehensive analytic orientation to inform processing in which perceivers access and scrutinize a great deal of information for its relevance to their judgment task† (Tamborini et al. , 2007) Heuristic processing is conceptualized as â€Å"A more limited mode of information processing that requires less cognitive effort and fewer cognitive resources than systematic processing† (Tamborini et al. , 2007) Simple stated, heuristic information processing are shortcuts using previous knowledge and stereotypes, which influences peoples’ judgments. During a trial, jurors take in enormous amounts of information and when deliberating they tend to fill in the missing information with past experiences or stereotypes about certain crimes and criminals. This is not their intention, however it is how people cognitively process information-we put information into or take it out of certain categories. There are three main research methods used to study race and its effects on juries (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). Archival analysis of actual cases is ideal but there are a lot of confounding variables, which are hard to measure and control statistically (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). Another method used is post-trial juror interviews. This method is useful because you are asking direct questions of the jurors, who were part of the real trials. However, it is time consuming, has a small sample size, and relies on self-reporting by jurors (which in unreliable) (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). The third method is mock juror experiments, which relies on the experimental method of social psychology and allows the experimenters to control the confounding variables (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). There are some downfalls to using mock juror experiments as well, such as using college students as participants, written trial summaries, instead of witnessing a real trial, and the decision made by mock jurors have no real consequences (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2003). According to Sommers and Ellsworth (2003) it is best to use multiple methods. For example compare archival data to mock jury data. As I stated earlier, aversive racism and race salience (racially charged vs. racially neutral) in trials go hand and hand. Sommers and Ellsworth (both social psychologists) first studied race salience in their study, â€Å"Race in he Courtroom: Perceptions of Guilt and Dispositional Attributions† (2000). Since the theory of aversive racism (modern or subtle) states, Whites are more motivated to â€Å"appear† non-prejudice when racial issues are salient or prominent. They found that when a trial involves race salience the race of the defendant did not influence the White jurors (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2000). However, when a trail did not have race salience, the African-American defendants were found to be more guilty, aggressive, and violent by the White juror then the White defendant. This could have a profound effect, since Whites are not caught up in the day to day of racial issues, they may not take notice to the most subliminal racial issues in a trial. It may cause them to revert back to the more overt form of racism without even consciously knowing they are being racist or displaying their biases. A more recent study, â€Å"Diversity and Fairness in the Jury System†, conducted for the Ministry of Justice Research Series, by Thomas and Blamer (2007) concluded when a trial is racially charged (race salience), conviction rates for African-American defendants were lower. However, the conviction rate between White jurors and African-American jurors for African-American defendants were no different (Thomas & Balmer, 2007) (44% and 43%). In trials that were racially neutral, White jurors had low conviction rates for African-American defendants, while African-American jurors had high conviction rates for White defendants and low conviction rates for African-American defendants (Thomas & Balmer, 2007). This was a very interesting finding because in the Sommers and Ellsworth studies (2000, 2001) African-American jurors showed leniency both in race salience and non-race salience trials. Thomas and Balmer (2007) point out that in the Sommers and Ellsworth study that jurors did not decide cases as part of a jury with any deliberations (Thomas & Balmer, 2007). The results in the Thomas and Blamer study showed that individual jurors had difference conviction rates, but as a jury there was no difference between race salience and non-race salience trails (Thomas & Blamer, 2007). None of the juries (there were 8 in all) in the Thomas and Blamer (2007) study convinced the White defendant, The juries in England and Wales where this study took place have the same makeup as juries in the United States, majority White (Thomas & Balmer, 2007). That makes a nice segway into my next theory of jury composition because it appears that they dynamic of a racially mixed jury helped ensure individual biases were not allowed to dictate verdicts (Thomas & Balmer, 2007). Justice Thurgood Marshall said, â€Å"Diverse juries enjoy wider ranging discussions because White and Black jurors bring different experiences and perspectives to the jury room† (Sommers, 2006). Not only do African-American jurors bring different experiences but also, as we saw in the Thomas and Balmer (2007) study a racially mixed jury might help to ensure individual biases are not allowed to dictate verdicts. Again, referring to a study by Sommers (the leading researcher in this field) in which he specifically studies â€Å"The multiple effects of racial composition on jury deliberations† (Sommers, 2006). Having African-Americans (or minorities in general) on a jury can bring two different types of diversity-deep-level diversity and surface-level diversity (Sommers, 2007). Both can affect information exchange in different ways. Deep-level diversity brings the expertise, attitudes, and values of the individual members to the deliberation room (Sommers, 2007). Surface-level diversity brings members’ demographics and social category membership into the deliberation room (Sommers, 2007). Sommers’ (2006) found diverse groups spent more time deliberating, made fewer factual errors, and if there was an error it was more likely to be corrected, more open-mindness, and less resistance to discussions of controversial race topics (Sommers, 2006). The homogenous jury was the opposite (Sommers, 2006). Those results showed the affect deep-level diversity could bring to a jury. However, another aspect, which will bring me back to the theory of aversive racism and race salience, is the affect having diversity has on a White juror. By having a racially diverse jury, the White jurors have the issue of race and egalitarian values in the forefront of their minds. The White jurors are avoiding seeming bias. Sommers et al. , (2008) conducted a study to see if there are â€Å"Cognitive effects of racial diversity in a group. † The study found that Whites in a diverse group process information more thoroughly. They had no interaction with a diverse group member, it was simply being aware of a diverse group composition, which impacted the cognition of White members. It even improved reading comprehension of race-relevant passages, especially when Whites expected to have race-relevant conversation. This is important in a legal context as well. If a White juror’s cognitive ability, and information processing is improved they will use systematic processing which is â€Å"A comprehensive, analytic orientation to information processing in which perceivers access and scrutinize a great deal of information for its relevance to their judgment task†, instead of heuristics processing or shortcuts in their decision making (Tamborini et al. 2007). The Supreme Court attempted to make juries more racially diverse â€Å"Batson prohibition against race-based peremptories was based on two assumptions: (1) a prospective juror’s race can bias a jury selection judgments; (2) requiring attorneys to justify suspicious peremptories enables judges to determine whether a challenge is, indeed, race-neutral† (Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U. S. 79 (1986). To summarize the findings, White jurors tend to show their bias towards African-American defendants when the trial is not racially charged because they are not motivated to conceal their bias (aversive racism and egalitarian views). In homogenous juries Whites are more like to be bias, spend less time on their decisions, make more errors, consider fewer perspectives, are not motivated to conceal their bias. Also, when there is information overload jurors use heuristics (shortcuts) to process information, rather than a systematic review of the information. Tis effect, of using shortcuts, produces bias judgment for both African-American jurors and White jurors. All the aforementioned could be cause for the bias decision making of jurors and juries. However, there are positives that can be found throughout these studies. For instance, racially diverse juries, and race salience trials can help alleviate the biases by jurors and juries. It also proves that not all White juries are affected by the race of a defendant (in certain situations). Race and its effect on jury decisions is a topic that will be studied for years to come because of the complex nature of a jury and modern racism. Although studies have shown bias decision-making by White jurors there is still not enough statistics to make a causal connection. Research has also shown ways in which a jury’s bias can be minimized. The jury is one of the backbones of the court system, because of this, it is imperative that we continue to study juror bias and how to minimize their bias through different trial techniques and policies and procedures.

Life and Work of Ed Clark Essay

Hailed from the Storyville in the state of New Orleans, Edward Clark had made his imprint to the Visual and Arts field of the African American History. Born on 1926, he studied at Art Institute of Chicago for his four years degree from year 1947 to 1951. After he finished his bachelor’s degree, he studied again in Paris at L’Academie de la Grande Chaumiere during the year 1952. In his years in Paris, the academe where he was into influenced him a lot to pursue more and one his talent in painting and arts. His instructor named Edouard Georg of the L’Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, encouraged him to paint and make arts works and pieces. But before his study in Paris, he already received good words and encouragement from his instructor in Art Institute of Chicago named Louis Ritman. However, though much appreciated by Clark, neither of the two had become inspiration for him to make his own work. It was the painting entitled â€Å"The Football Game† created by Nicolas de Stael. He had seen the painting when he was in Paris the same year 1952 in an exhibit in Salon d’Automne. After he lived in Paris, France, he came back to New York to continue his art profession and career. Clark became one of the charter members of the Tenth Street’s Brata gallery. This was where the works of the famous artists like Sal Romano and John Krushenick were displayed and shown. Also, the works of George Sugarman, Al Held, and Ronald Bladen were shown there. During the year 1957, his work with a shaped canvass had been displayed on the same gallery where he had been a member in a Christmas group show. It was described in an article of Lawrence Campbell on Art News as the first and one of its kind. His works for over the five decades of being an abstract artist have been known internationally. With his work displayed in 1957 in the Brata gallery, which was a work in a shaped canvass, he was the very first painter to be credited having an innovated work. In time, his kind of work had influenced the contemporary art during the years of 1950 and 1960. He became known of his works in large-shaped canvasses, his strong impact brush strokes, and his choice of colors in every masterpiece he made. And because of these things about him and he had made, he had been called as an â€Å"Abstract Impressionist. Aside from the work that had been exhibited at Brata gallery, another work of Clark made him famous was the one that had been placed and displayed at his Alma Mater Art Institute of Chicago. This work of Clark belonged to the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. After his very successful career as abstract artist in New York, he came back in France where he made his very first oval painting. To date, this was almost a decade after he firstly done his push broom technique in making his masterpieces. With his push broom technique, he was able to move himself freely while painting on the canvass, as a result, his strokes were big and bolded, and these made him more different among other abstract artist. Clark was always open for new creation and styles of his work. Aside from the push broom technique that he had first used, he also used the method similar to â€Å"pouring sand. † However, it was just inspired by the mentioned method and Clark made use of the dry pigments, this time on the paper instead on large canvass. During his times, it was the post war years of realism and years of abstraction. Also, the paintings of other artists were concentrated on the civil rights issue and racial clamors between the white men and black men. Clark, though addressed almost the same issue, had delivered his works in a very different, although he was using large canvasses alike with other artists that time. After the 1950s, it was the Black Arts Movement and Abstraction that hounded the field of visual and arts. Black men asserted their culture authority in line with the civil rights they were asserting on the past decade. Clark also belonged to these artist where African American Arts were much honed.

Copyright enforcement - Digital Piracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Copyright enforcement - Digital Piracy - Essay Example Thus, policymakers necessitate assessing and calibrating their copyright policies in order to ensure that these strategies can effectively reduce the number of digital piracy events and provide creators with ample incentives to generate new things. The paper deals with understanding different issues regarding piracy in the digital environment. The major objective is to understand the attempts made through enforcement of law and also to provide certain solutions in order to avoid the detrimental occurrences of digital copyright piracy (Litman, 2006). Overview of Digital Piracy In present days, digital products have much demand in the market particularly for young consumers. The easy reproduction and sharing of digital products makes it very attractive to transmit the pirated contents with less effort and time. Those who are related with digital breach of copyrighted products also take the benefit of this market, where young consumers frequently prefer convenience rather than quality, particularly when expediency is a vital aspect (for instance, movie or live program of a major sporting event) (OECD, 2009). Unlike other markets, the products of digital market have a large number of suppliers whose major objective is to achieve more acknowledgements and appreciations within a peer group, rather than making profit. Hence, these suppliers provide free access to users for enjoying the digital content. This activity is continued because the cost of imitation and distribution of digital products is negligible. Unlike other industries, where copyright possessors need to struggle with pirates, who provide the similar products at a much lower cost, in the digital products market, the copyright possessors also require competing with pirates who are ready to provide the similar digital products at almost zero cost. In these circumstances, the non-price aspects such as authority, accessibility and quality have become particularly vital in permitting digital product suppliers to sustain in the market. The basis for survival of illegal digital piracy, where pirated products are traded against certain price, seems counterintuitive due to high competition from genuine product providers and introduction of several open access websites. When digital pirates function in the market they probably can enjoy remarkably high amount of revenue by taking advantage of low cost activities, particularly if they are capable of misrepresenting them in front of the users as genuine creators of digital products and can charge price accordingly (OECD, 2009). The pirates of digital products function in different nations which come under different jurisdictions, thus having different regulations. These differences obstruct the efficiency of legal enforcement for preventing digital piracy activities, further making it more challenging and expensive. Nations that have strong copyright protection have low rate of piracy events. However, without effective enforcement of laws, cop yright protection cannot be succeeded. Moreover, the flexibility of digital piracy provides pirates an opportunity to change their functions effortlessly to those markets where legal commands are poor (OECD, 2009). Influencers of Digital Piracy The major influencer of digital piracy is computer. The features of computer along with internet simplify the collection and distribut

An article on the Consitution of The US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

An article on the Consitution of The US - Essay Example ted States are entitled within restraint of the law and are still in use today as much as they had ever been, with the first ten articles being known as the Bill of Rights. Although every state had something to gain from the signing of the Constitution, it was Pennsylvania that had much to strive for by the new laws written in the document, such as more freedom and more rights that they could benefit from, as well as having the honor of being the location decided upon for the convention to take place. When it comes to politics, many people find it hard to become excited, yet by becoming the home of such an important event and document, the people of Pennsylvania quickly felt like they were truly Americans. Of the thirty-nine delegates to sign the Constitution, eight of them came from and represented Pennsylvania: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jered Ingersoll, James Wilson, and Gouverneur Morris (Webster, 2010). All of these Pennsylvanian men are also considered to be among the Founding Fathers of the United States as they were behind some of the more drastic changes that the nation has ever seen, including the signing of the documents that would change the laws and freedoms in which a United States citizen was entitled to, as well as presidencies and highly looked upon government careers. All of these men had strong political backgrounds and experiences with working for law-driven changes, which gave them the knowledge that they needed to adopt the laws and articles in the Constitution. As political figures, they knew what citizens required to live free, fulfilling lives, as well as what legal issues needed to be addressed, such as what rights citizens were entitled to and what rights needed to be altered in accordance to the demands of the citizens and the needs of the time, like gun laws and criminal rights laws. It had been readily agreed upon that the people that should be in charge of creating such laws

Self Actualization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Self Actualization - Essay Example Self-actualization is a psychological concept accredited to Kurt Goldstein, defined as an instinctive human need to make the most of their abilities and to strive for fulfillment of their potential. In Maslow's expansion of Goldstein's concept, an individual reaches self-actualization when they feel assured of their physiological security, affiliations and affections, and their respect. In Maslow's terms, "What a man can be, he must be (Maslow, 1943)." Self-actualization can be described in layspeech as self-fulfillment. Though the term carries various implications and nuances depending upon the academic, its essence is of happiness and fulfillment. Paxton and Turner paraphrase Shostrom: Overall, Shostrom's theory of self-actualization is one that emphasizes positive mental health and psychological adjustmentActualizing persons are viewed by Shostrom as individuals who are willing to take the risk of being themselves and to respond according to how they feel in the present, rather than adhering to rigid patterns of the past or to inflexible goals of the future. Two concepts that are central to Shostrom's theory of actualizing are inner-direction and time competence. Shostrom describes actualizing persons as being inner-directed, meaning that the motivation for their behavior comes from within, not from external influences. The importance of the concept of inner-direction to Shostrom's theory is illustrated by the fact that he describes inner-direction as a goal of self-actualizing and a central tenet Time competence, another characteristic of actualizing individuals, refers to the ability to live in the here-and-now rather than predominantly living in the past and/o r in the future (66). Self-actualization is intimately related to identity-the concept of fulfillment grows from one's perception of self. "The reflected self is composed of three elements: The self-concept (SC)-a person's perception of himself or herself; the Perceived Self-Concept (PSC)-a person's perception of others' evaluations of him or her; and the Social Self-Concept (SSC)-others' actual evaluations of a person (Schafer et al, 168)." The well-known Chilean sociologist Max-Neef has inextricably nine components of fulfillment and actualization in his matrix of needs-satisfactions. According to Max-Neef, people and communities reach fulfillment when they have access to the following: Basic subsistence (food, shelter, work), Protection (rights, family, security), Affect (friends, family, partners or spouses), Understanding (education, policy, and communications which orient one in their social context), Participation (rights, responsibilities, and obligations), Recreation (games, shows, parties, leisure), Creation (abilities, talents, methods, and skills), Identity (symbols, language, customs, sexuality, values, and roles), and Freedom (civil rights and equality) (Max-Neef, 1986). Fundamental Human Needs Being (qualities) Having (things) Doing (actions) Interacting (settings) subsistence physical and mental health food, shelter work feed, clothe, rest, work living environment, social setting protection care, adaptability autonomy social security, health systems, work co-operate, plan, take care of, help social

The necessity of human resource management Essay

The necessity of human resource management - Essay Example It helps in determination of objectives. No organization can succeed in its mission unless its objectives an identified and well denied. Management helps in achieving these objectives by the efficient use of resources. "Management is the art of getting things done through other people. Management is the dynamic, life-giving element in every business. Without it the resources of production remain resources and never become production." (Sharma, 2004) The people working in an organization are a valuable resource whose talents have to be developed and utilized in the best manner possible for the achievements of organizational objectives (Sherlekar, 1999). Meaningful personnel policy is based on the implied understanding that human resource constitutes the essential capital and assets of any business. Without this no business can prosper nor can it survive. The growth and success of the enterprise and the rate of human investment have positive and high correlation. If human investment is adequate and time, money and energy spent in planning, obtaining and developing the human resource are considered as integral part of overall corporate plan and policy, there is no reason why economic investment should not be fruitful (David et al, 2004) Firstly, management is a social process. ... Management is concerned with making such an interaction productive and useful for achieving organizational goals. It is the pervasiveness of the human element that gives management its special character as a social process. Secondly, management is an integrating process. Management is regarded as a process integrating human and other resources to achieve predetermined goals. Managers apply their knowledge and skills to achieve the desired result. For this purpose, it is necessary to create unity of effort or teamwork in the organization. In order to develop team spirit, managers has to synchronies different activities, relate means to ends, and strike an appropriate balance between organizational and individual goals. Thus management is regarded as an integrating process. Thirdly, management is a continuous process Management is an ongoing continuous process. It involves continuous handling of problems and issues. Management constantly identifies the problems and tries to solve them (Sherlekar, 1999). 4.0 Staffing Staffing may be defined as the process involved in identifying, assessing, planning, evaluating and developing individuals at work. The managerial function of staffing involves manning the organizational structure through the proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of personnel to fill the roles designed into the structure. 4.1 Phases in Staffing Process 4.1.1 Manpower Planning Manpower planning may be regarded, as a process of determining quantitative and qualitative needs in relation to manpower in an organization. It may be expressed as a process by which the management ensures the right number of people and right kind of people, at the right place, at the right time

Community Outreach Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Community Outreach Program - Essay Example There are various avenues available to Coney Island Hospital in its effort to ensure that this program is accessible to all members of the community. The program will require its medical providers to alter their regular treatment schedules in the hospital to go conduct door to door health checks in patients’ home. The providers will begin in areas with low-income people as they are the ones most likely to be affected by diseases due to their inability to afford medical care. In order to do it safely, door-to-door program would better be conducted during morning hours. However, if the hospital is willing to hire night security, night visitations could be carried out as well. The disadvantage of conducting a daytime campaign is the act of having to travel to different residences in order to visit people who may not be home. Night time visitations have the advantage of having the majority of people indoors and therefore more effective. Door to door campaigns are one of the most e ffective methods of reaching out to everyone in the society as they give people or the populace targeted the privacy in their homes. These campaigns are however not cost-effective as extra expenses are incurred when medical personnel are dispatched to go on door-to-door visitations. The transport costs are an added expense which is not the case with in-hospital treatments. This method is also extremely time consuming and will require more than six months to be successfully completed. The source of funding of the program must be considered carefully as it is a crucial for the success of this outreach project. Due to the enormous cost of the program, one option is involving the State of New York to fund the program since it is a community project aimed at benefiting the residents of Coney Island. Moreover, as the services offered at a medical checkup are generally of a basic level, Coney Island Hospital will request medical student volunteers to come and assist in the work as part of their internship program as they get training from their supervisors. The checkups that do not call injections or prescription of medicine can be performed by them upon training thus saving time for senior staff who will do the more sophisticated work. The students should be those of senior level who are already familiar with checkup procedures so that the hospital does not need to invest more funds in training. This will give them an opportunity to acquire hands-on experience as well as add credit to their coursework if the hospital is willing to collaborate with universities from the area or to get staff from the medical reserve corps to

SCHOLARLY ETHICAL PAPER Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

SCHOLARLY ETHICAL - Research Paper Example These are some of the ethical questions that may confront a nurse and even other health professionals. The ethical goal of a health professional’s practice is to deliver a caring response given an ethical issue or question (Purtilo and Doherty, 2011, p. 25). 2.0. Relevance of the Ethical Issue on the Withdrawal of Life Support System The issue on whether it is ethical for nurses to assist patients or their relatives in the withdrawal of life support systems for patients is highly relevant because the issue is frequently encountered in the setting of terminally ill cancer patients, stroke, heart attacks, and other illnesses where patients can become comatose. In this case, the case for withdrawing the life system can be debated especially if there are no signs that the patient will recover from the situation soon. The ethical issue is also relevant in situations where the patient is terminally ill as determined by a competent medical professional, believed to be without possibi lity of recovery from the standpoint of medical science, and in extreme and serious pain at the same time. Finally, the ethical issue may also be relevant in situations where nobody is footing the bill for the life support system and, yet, the patient does not show signs of recovering from a condition or illness believed to be terminal as determined by a competent medical professional. 3.0. My Argument My argument is for an affirmative response to withdraw the life support system where any of the following applies. Firstly, in situations where the patient is assessed by a competent health professional that he is or she is terminally ill with no bright hope of recovery and in serious in pain. Secondly, where the patient is in coma and there is no indication of recovery from the illness or situation. Thirdly, when the patient is brain-dead, there is no sign that the patient will recover, and that no one is footing the bill for his or her medical expense. The ethical principle or theor y on which I base my perspective is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism â€Å"is the creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, the greatest happiness principle† (Mack, 2004, p. 63). Mack (2004, p. 63) continues that â€Å"it holds that actions are right in proportion to happiness and wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.† Allowing a person to suffer extreme pain when dying will highly magnify the grief and sufferings not only of his or her loved ones but also of the patient. A person who is brain dead with no likelihood of waking up and surviving produces grief for his or her loved ones. Most likely, if a patient in coma is asked of his or her opinion on his or her situation (situation of prolonged coma and prolong suffering for her loved ones), he or she would vote for the withdrawal of his or her life support system. If nobody is footing the bill for one’s life support system and dying or not waking up is the likely outcome, then it might a lso be better if the life support system of the individual is withdrawn. 4.0. Counter-Argument Those who subscribe to the deontological or duty-oriented theories on ethics will probably oppose my position. According to Edge and Groves (2006, p. 38), â€Å"deontological ethicists feel that the basic rightness or wrongness of an act depend on its intrinsic nature than on the situation or

Criminology-Police Brutality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Criminology-Police Brutality - Essay Example ely to produce great bodily injury† and with assault â€Å"under color of authority.† This triggered massive riots in the streets of Los Angeles, now referred to as the LA Riots, and is known to be one of the worst and most destructive civil disturbances in the history of melting-pot State. More than fifty people lost their lives in the three-day frenzy of violence. The main cause of furor was the belief that the police violence was racially-motivated and the ferocity of the attack would not have happened if Rodney King were white. As unfortunate as the outcome was, the incident could be said to be a good learning tool in that it invites us to revisit the issue of police brutality and the question of whether or not such brutality by law enforcement officers made while in the line of duty actually result in effective law enforcement. And if it were so – i.e., if apprehension of criminals was actually more certain if the police engage in strong-arm tactics – is this enough reason to bend or relax human rights standards in the Constitution and in various human rights instruments? Legal systems in the civilized world – whether in civil or common law jurisdictions -- have, at least in theory, given primacy to the rights of the accused, understanding that ambiguity should be resolved in his or her favor. This, however, does not mean that one must let down his or her vigilance and stop guarding against possible infringement of constitutional guarantees by overzealous judges, particularly at a time when human rights advocacy for the accused has been made unpopular by the rising rate of crime. It used to be that the primacy of the State is the core principle of the international legal regime as it is traditionally known. This, however, has been challenged by the alarming rise of state-sponsored human rights violations that has prodded the community of nations to recognize that its more pressing duty is to protect the individual from systemic and institutional

Blooms Research and Response Essay Example for Free

Blooms Research and Response Essay A psychologist in the early 1950’s by the name of Benjamin Bloom developed Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. This was developed as a tool for educators to classify learning objectives and skills for students (Larkin Burton, 2008). This taxonomy has been used extensively by the health field, including nursing, to structure teaching plans and outcome testing. Blooms Taxonomy, consists of a hierarchy within 3 different domains of learning: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor (Larkin Burton, 2008). According to the taxonomy there are several subcategories within the cognitive domain. The lowest aspect in the hierarchy for the cognitive domain is knowledge. One is expected to retrieve information from long-term memory. Using this in nursing would be the patient being able to recognize medication side effects associated with their medication regimen. Advancing up the pyramid is comprehension. This is when one is expected to construct meaning from oral, written, or graphic information. Using this in nursing the patient would be able to explain the importance of having clean hands while doing central line flushing. Application is next. The patient should be able to apply concepts to real-life situations. For example, the patient should be able to calculate a resting heart rate. The highest level in the cognitive domain is the evaluation. A nurse would be able to modify concepts to create an individual teaching plan to fit the particular patient situation. The nurse would be able to modify daily exercise regime to meet health goals. The second domain of learning is the affective domain. This domain centers around how people deal emotionally: including values, motivations, and attitudes. Receiving is at the bottom of the hierarchy. The nurse must be attentive to and aware of the opportunity for learning. A prime example of using this skill in nursing, the nurse will help the patient realized need for change in their lifestyle decision making. Near the top of the pyramid is organizing and conceptualizing, being able to organize values thru prioritization and through contrasting differing values. Examples for using this in nursing are being able to teach the patient to prioritize daily responsibilities to allow for time and stress management. The top of the pyramid in this domain is value concept; a value system that explains their behavior. When applying this to nursing the patient will be able to sustain healthy choices over time. The third domain in Blooms Taxonomy of Education is the psychomotor domain; how people use motor skills to complete or engage in a task. Imitation is the ability to imitate motor activity. Applying imitation to nursing the patient would be able to detect the proper site for blood glucose testing. Manipulation is next; where the patient follows instructions. A patient can assemble equipment for glucose testing. Naturalization is at the top of the psychomotor domain. The patient will have the necessary skills to complete the task without thinking about it. Using this in nursing the patient will be able to progress to unassisted mobility following orthopedic surgery through the use of exercise and physical therapy. Bloom’s Taxonomy is easy to understand and makes a logical progression from fundamental learning to complex. Using this taxonomy in the nursing teaching process can have long-lasting effects on improving the nursing practice (Larkin Burton, 2008). References Anderson, L.W., Krathwohl, D.R., Airasian, P.W., et al. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York. Addison Wessly Longman. Bloom, B., ed. (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York. Longman Krathwohl, D.R., Bloom, B.S., Masia, B.B.,(1973). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, the classification of educational goals. Handbook II: Affective domain. New York: David McKay CO., Inc. Larkin, B. G., Burton, K. J. (2008). Evaluating a case study using Blooms Taxonomy of Education. AORN Journal , 88(3), 390. Simpson E.J., (1972). The classification of educational objectives in psychomotor domain. Washington D.C., Gyphon House.

Project management techniques

Project management techniques Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project. In other word it is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources related to a project to successfully complete the specific goals and objective of the project. A project is a temporary thing which has a predefind goal and a defined begining. The temporary nature of project stands in contrast to business as usual, which are repetative, parmanent or semi permanent functional work to produce product or service.   Project Management Knowledge Areas Project management knowledge areas describe project management knowledge and practice in term of its component process. These proceses have been organized into nine knowledge areas as described below-   Project Integration Management Various types of processes are required to coordinate the various element of the project. Project integration management integrate all those processes to fullfill the project goal.there are three major areas for project integration management: Project plan development Project plan execution Overall change control These processes are interact with other and with the process in the other knowledge areas as well. Moreover, integration must also occur in anumber of other areas inorder to be successfully completion of the project. Project Plan Development Project plan development uses the outputs of the other planning processes to create a consistent, coherent document that can be used to guide both project execution and project control1. It is used to guide project execution, document project planning assumptions, document project planning decisions regarding alternatives chosen, facilitate communication among stakeholders, define key management reviews as to content, extent and timing. It also provide a baseline for progress measurement and project control.   Project Plan Execution Project plan execution is the primary process for carryign out the project plan. The project manager and the project management team will corordinate with each other uses the various technical and organizational interfaces that exists in the project. Project application areas directly affect the project processin which the product of the project are actually created. Inputs of project plan execution are project plan,supporting details, organization policies, creative action. General management skills, product skills and knowledge, work authorization, system, status review meetings, project management information system, organizational process are techniques used in project plan execution. Overall Change Control Overall chnage control is concerned with influencing the factors which create change to ensure that changes are benificial, the changes that has occured need to be determined, and managing the actual changes when and as they occur. Inputs of overall change control are project plan, performace reports, change requests etc. The techniques that are used on overall change control are change control system, configuration management, performance measurement, additional planning and project management information system. Project Scope Management The project scope management plan refers to the mechanism that consists of formalized document that is used for the purposes of detailing exactly how the pproject scope will be defined, what decision will be undertaken to develop the project scope, how the project scope will ultimately be varified and how all the components will be created and defined under work break down structure. Five major areas of the project scope management process are. 1. Initiation, 2. Scope planning, 3. Scope definition, 4. Scope verification, and 5. Scope change control. The project scope management plan also will provide information and assistance in determining exactly how the actual scope of the project will ultimately be controlled in the management process by the project management team and or the project management team leader. The actual project scope management plan, as with most project management components, can be a very formally written document, or it can also be a much more informally written document. The detail level can vary wildly as well, depending on exactly what the needs of the project dictate2. Project Time Management Project time management includes the processed required too ensure timely completion of the project. The major areas of time management are described inbrief in the following sections-   Activity Definition Activity definition involves identifying and documenting the specific activities that must be performed in order to produce the deliverables from the project. Activity definition uses WBS, scope statement, historical information, diferent constraint, assumptions as the inputs. Decomposition tools and tamplates are used as techniques. Activity list, supoprting details, and the updates of WBS are the outcomes from this area. Activity Sequencing Activity sequencing involves the identifying and documenting the activity dependencies within the project. The activity must be sequenced inoder to support the later development of a real world and achivable schedule. Activity list, product description, dependencies, assuptions etc are used as input in this area. Precedence daigramming method (PDM), arrow diagramming method , network templates are used to process the inputs. Activity Duration Estimating Aactivity duration estimating involves assuring the number of work periods likely to be needed to complete each identified activity. Overall project duration is also estimating in this period. The inputs of this period are activity list, constraints, assumptions, resource requirements, resources capabilities etc. Activity duration estimation, basis of estimates, and activity list updates are the outputs that we can get from this period.   Schedule Development Schedule development involves in determining the start and finish dates for project activities. If the time schedule of a project are not realistic, the project is unlikely to be finished as scheduled. Project network diagram, activity duration estimates, resource requirements, resource pool description, assumptions etc are inputs of this area. The outputs we got from this area are project schedule, supporting detail, schedule management plan, resource requirement updates. Schedule Control Schedule control is concerned with the factors which influence to create schdule changes to ensure that changes are benifical for the project, detemining that the schedule has changed and managing the actual changes when and as they occur. Schedule control is integrated with the overall control process which is a phase of project integration management. Project schedule, performance reports, change requests, schedule management plan are the inputs to this area. Project Cost Management Project cost management includes the processes which are required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget. It involves the following major areas- Resources Planning Resource planning involves determining what physical resources like- people, equipment, materials etc. and what quantities of each should be used to perform project activities. It is closely coordinated with cost estimating. WBS, historical information, scope statement, resource pool description and organization policies are the inputs of this area. Experts will judgment with all alternatives that are identified and give a complete resource requirement. Cost Estimating Cost estimating involves to developing a possible estimation of costs of resources that are needed to complete a project activities. WBS, resource requirements, resource rates, activity duration estimates and chart of account are the inputs of cost estimation. There are different tools that are used in this process. They are- analogous estimating, parametric modeling, bottom-up estimating, computerized tools etc. cost estimates, supporting details,, and cost management plan are the output of this area.   Cost Budgeting Cost budgeting involves allocating the overall cost estimates to individual work items in order to establish a cost baseline for measuring project performance. Cost estimation, WBS, and project schedule are the inputs of cost budgeting. Cost baseline is the outputs of this stage. Cost Control Cost control is concerned with the factors which create changes to the cost baseline to ensure that changes are beneficial, whether the cost baseline has changed or not, managing the actual change. Cost baseline, performance reports, change requests and cost management plan are the inputs of this area. Project Quality Management Project quality management includes the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken. It includes all activities of the overall management function that determine the quality policy, objectives and responsibilities. The following areas are the major part of project quality management process. Quality Planning Quality planning identifies the quality standards which are relevant to the project and to determining how to satisfy them. Quality planning, scope statement, product description, standards and regulations and other process outputs are the inputs of quality planning. Flowcharting, benchmarking, designing of experiments are the techniques used to process the inputs. The result out from this phase includes quality management plan, operational definitions, checklists etc. Quality Assurance Quality assurance evaluates the overall project performance on a regular basis to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards. Quality management plan, result of quality control measurements, operational definitions are inputs of this process and quality improvement is the outcome from this process. Quality Control Quality control monitors the specific project results to determine if they comply with relevant quality standards and identifying ways to eliminate causes of unsatisfactory performance. Work result, quality management plan, operational definitions and checklist are input of this area. This inputs are processed by control charts, praetor diagram flowcharting. Quality improvement, acceptance decisions, rework, completed checklists, process adjustments etc are the outputs from this process. Project Human Resource Management Project human resource management involves the process of using the people who can make the effective effort to complete the project. All the sponsor, customers, individual contributors are included in human resource management. The major areas are describing below- Organizational Planning Organizational planning involves identifying, documenting, and assigning project roles, responsibilities and reporting relationships. The inputs are project interfaces, staffing requirements and constraints. Templates, human resources practices and stakeholder analysis are the tools for processing the inputs. The role, responsibility assignment of persons who are working on the project and also the supporting details are the result we have from this phase. Staff Acquisition The human resources needed to be assigned and are working on the project are involves in staff acquisition. The staff acquisitions also take care about best resources which may be missing in most work environment. Staffing management plan, staffing pool description, recruitment practices are the inputs of this area. Negotiations with workers, pre- assignment and procurement are tools that used in staff acquisition. And as a result the project will get the staff assigned to it, and has a team directory. Team Development Team development includes enhancing the ability of stakeholders as well as the team which are working on the project. Project staff, project plan, staffing management plan, performance reports and external feed is the inputs of the team development. Project Management Techniques There are a number of approaches to managing project activities. We only describe the Program evaluation and Review technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM). Pert A series of activities are needed for complex project, some of them has to be performed sequentially and others can performed parallel with other ptoject. This randomness in activitiy completion times are allowed in the Program evalution and Review technique (PERT) which is like a network model. The Network Diagram Project actvities are the task that needs to be performed and the marking the completion of some important activities are called events also referred as milestones. All of the predecessor activities must be completed before an activity begins. Activities and milestones are respresenated by arcs and nodes respectively in project network model. The activites are represented on the lines and milestones on the nodes, as PERT originally was an activity on arc network. The PERT char may have multiple pages with many sub-tasks. In the following fig we have shown a simple PERT diagram. The ending nodes has the higher number than the beginning node of an activity. Incrementing the numbers by 10 allows for new ones can be inserted without modifying the entire diagram. The activites in the fig are labeled with letters along with the expected time that is needed to comple the activity. Steps in the PERT Planning Process PERT planning involves the following steps: 1. Specific activities and milestones identifying. 2. The sequence of the activities properly determined. 3. Construct a network diagram. 4. Estimate the time required for each activity. 5. Determine the critical path. 6. Update the PERT chart as the project progresses. Advantages PERT is useful because it provides the following information: The project will complete in expected time. There will be a Probability of completion of the project before the specified date. The completion time of a project are directly affected by critical path activities. The activities that have slack time and that can lend resources to critical path activities. Activity starts and end dates are also provided by PERT. Disadvantages The following are some of PERTs weaknesses: The activity time estimates are somewhat subjective and depend on judgment. In cases where there is little experience in performing an activity, the numbers may be only a guess. In other cases, if the person or group performing the activity estimates the time there may be bias in the estimate. Even if the activity times are well-estimated, PERT assumes a beta distribution for these time estimates, but the actual distribution may be different. Even if the beta distribution assumption holds, PERT assumes that the probability distribution of the project completion time is the same as that of the critical path. Because other paths can become the critical path if their associated activities are delayed, PERT consistently underestimates the expected project completion time. The underestimation of the project completion time due to alternate paths becoming critical is perhaps the most serious of these issues. To overcome this limitation, Monte Carlo simulations can be performed on the network to eliminate this optimistic bias in the expected project completion time. 1. http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/pert/ 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pert   CPM The activities and events of a project can be modeled as a network using CPM method. In the following diagram we have shown the activities as nodes on the network and events are depicted as lines or arcs between the nodes. Steps in CPM Project Planning. 1. individual activities should be specified 2. Sequence of the activities should be determined 3. Draw a network diagram. 4. For each activity the completion time should be estimated. 5. Critical path identification (longest path through the network) 6. Update the CPM diagram as the project progresses. 1. Individual Activities should be specified A listing of activities can be made from the work break down structure of a project. 2. Sequence of the Activities should be determined Some activities are dependent on each other depending on the completion of others. To constructing a useful CPM network diagram, a listing of the predecessors of each activity is needed. 3. Draw the Network Diagram The CPM diagram can be drawn after defining the activities and their sequencing. CPM originally was developed as an activity on node (AON) network, but some project planners prefer to specify the activities on the arcs. 4. For each activity Completion Time the completion should be estimated The time required to complete each activity can be estimated using past experience or the estimates of knowledgeable persons. CPM is a deterministic model that does not take into account variation in the completion time, so only one number is used for an activitys time estimate. 5. Critical Path identification The critical path is the longest-duration path through the network. The significance of the critical path is that the activities that lie on it cannot be delayed without delaying the project. Because of its impact on the entire project, critical path analysis is an important aspect of project planning [2]. 6. Update CPM diagram The network diagram should be updated as the project progresses, all of the task information that has completed needed to be including in the diagram. While project requirement changes the structure of the network diagram also change. Advantage: Graphical view of the project can be found. The required time needed to complete the project can be predicted. A list of activities which are critical to maintain and schedule can be found. Disadvantage CPM was developed for complex but fairly routine projects with minimal uncertainty in the project completion times. For less routine projects there is more uncertainty in the completion times, and this uncertainty limits the usefulness of the deterministic CPM model. 1. http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/cpm/ 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method 3. http://hspm.sph.sc.edu/COURSES/J716/CPM/CPM.html

Julius Ceasar Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio

Julius Ceaser was the Roman general and statesman, who laid the foundations of the Roman imperial system. Born in Rome on July 12 or 13, 100 BC, Caesar belonged to the prestigious Julian clan; yet from early childhood he knew controversy. His uncle by marriage was Gaius Marius, leader of the populares. This party supported agrarian reform and was opposed by the reactionary optimates, a senatorial faction. Marius was seven times consul , and the last year he held office, just before his death in 86 BC, he exacted a terrifying toll on the optimates. At the same time he saw to it that Caesar was appointed flamen dialis, one of an archaic priesthood with no power. This identified him with his uncle's extremist politics, and his marriage in 84 BC to Cornelia, the daughter of Marius's associate, Cinna, further confirmed him as a radical. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Marius's enemy and leader of the optimates, was made dictator in 82 BC, he issued a list of enemies to be executed. Although Caesar was not harmed, he was ordered by Sulla to divorce Cornelia. Refusing that order, he found it prude nt to leave Rome. He did not return to the city until 78 BC, after Sulla's resignation. Caesar was now 22 years old. Unable to gain office, he left Rome again and went to Rhodes, where he studied rhetoric; he returned to Rome in 73 BC, a very persuasive speaker. The year before, while still absent, he had been elected to the pontificate, an important college of Roman priests. In 71 BC Pompey the Great, who had earned his epithet in service under Sulla, returned to Rome, having defeated the rebellious populares general Sertorius in Spain. At the same time Marcus Crassus, a rich patrician, suppressed in Italy the slave revolt led by Spartacus. Pompey and Crassus both ran for the consulship—an office held by two men—in 70 BC. Pompey, who by this time had changed sides, was technically ineligible, but with Caesar's help he won the office. Crassus became the other consul. In 69 BC, Caesar was elected quaestor and in 65 BC curule aedile, gaining great popularity for his excessive gladiatorial games. To pay for these, he borrowed money from Crassus. This united the two men, who also found common cause with Pompey. When Caesar returned to Rome in 60 BC after a year as governor of Spain, he joined forces with Crassus and Pompey in a three way alliance known as the First Triumv... ... violated, she was maligned by gossips, and Caesar then divorced her, telling the Senate that Caesar's wife must be above suspicion. His next marriage which was in 59 b.c. was to Calpurnia and was politically motivated. Since Caesar had no male heirs, he stipulated in his will that his grandnephew, Octavius, become his successor. It was Octavius who became Rome's first emperor under the name of Augustus. Caesar was a gifted writer, with a clear and simple style. His De Bello Gallico which means On the Gallic Wars in english, in which he described Gaul and his Gallic campaigns, is a major source of information about the early Celtic and Germanic tribes. Scholarly opinion of Caesar's accomplishments is divided. Some regard him as an unscrupulous tyrant, with an insatiable lust for power, and blame him for the demise of the Roman Republic. Others, admitting that he could be ruthless, insist that the Republic had already been destroyed. They maintain that to save the Roman world from chaos a new type of government had to be created. In fact, Caesar's reforms did stabilize the Mediterranean world. Among ancient military commanders, he may be second only to Alexander the Great.

declaration :: essays research papers

The Declaration of Independence is perhaps the most masterfully written state paper of Western civilization. As Moses Coit Tyler noted almost a century ago, no assessment of it can be complete without taking into account its extraordinary merits as a work of political prose style. Although many scholars have recognized those merits, there are surprisingly few sustained studies of the stylistic artistry of the Declaration.(1) This essay seeks to illuminate that artistry by probing the discourse microscopically--at the level of the sentence, phrase, word, and syllable. By approaching the Declaration in this way, we can shed light both on its literary qualities and on its rhetorical power as a work designed to convince a "candid world" that the American colonies were justified in seeking to establish themselves as an independent nation.(2) The text of the Declaration can be divided into five sections--the introduction, the preamble, the indictment of George III, the denunciation of the British people, and the conclusion. Because space does not permit us to explicate each section in full detail, we shall select features from each that illustrate the stylistic artistry of the Declaration as a whole.(3) The introduction consists of the first paragraph--a single, lengthy, periodic sentence: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.(4) Taken out of context, this sentence is so general it could be used as the introduction to a declaration by any "oppressed" people. Seen within its original context, however, it is a model of subtlety, nuance, and implication that works on several levels of meaning and allusion to orient readers toward a favorable view of America and to prepare them for the rest of the Declaration. From its magisterial opening phrase, which sets the American Revolution within the whole "course of human events," to its assertion that "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" entitle America to a "separate and equal station among the powers of the earth," to its quest for sanction from "the opinions of mankind," the introduction elevates the quarrel with England from a petty political dispute to a major event in the grand sweep of history.

Free Speech -- The First Amendment

When you think about America, the first thing that comes to mind is liberty. Liberty of the government and its citizens is one thing that colonists exceedingly desired during the British oppressive regime. When United States gained independence, the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution of the Unites States, a document that has been governing our country for more than 200 years. The constitution was drafted accordingly to ensure that people’s opinions were heard. What our Founding Fathers could not foresee is that in our 21st century, The Freedom of Speech not only gives a person such a massive power, but also an opinion even if it is immoral and goes against citizens’ values. Thesis statement The First Amendment is the right that has been belonging to people since the birth. When we think about freedom of speech, we tend to remember the protester who expressed his opinion through burning the United States flag or about journalists who exposed a corrupt official. But now the trend is to use the First Amendment to release hatred and worshiping mindsets that go against society’s values and morals. Background, History In the United States of America, the First Amendment is one of the things that distinguishes us from any other nations. The First Amendment guarantees the absolute freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom to exercise any religion and freedom to assemble. In many countries,the press gets censored and people who publicly express their opinion end up in the jail. In our country, however, political speech is protected and any citizen can sue an other if one feels his or her opinion is suppressed. The Westboro Baptist Church, Neo-Nazi, Neo- Klu Klux Klan, and many others emerged as groups that invoke and in... ... on Corporate Speech, the Press Is a Problem." New York Times 8 Feb. 2011: A12(L). Student Resource Center - Gold. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Document URL†¨http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=IPS&docId=A248547954&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=moun43602&version=1.0 Welch, Matt. "The 'costs' of free speech: consequentialism and the First Amendment don't mix." Reason July 2010: 2+. Student Resource Center - Gold. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. Document URL http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=IPS&docId=A227945164&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=moun43602&version=1.0 Lawver, Bryan. "Laws Do Not Prevent Hate Speech." The Globe. 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. .

Net Present Value and Cash Essay

Need to consider what types and which cash flows should be included in capital budgeting analysis. D&D was producing and marketing two major product lines: 1. Lift-Off: Low –suds, concentrated powder. 2. Wave: Traditional powder detergent. Questions & Answers: . If you were in Steve Gasper’s place, would you argue to include the cost from market testing as a cash outflow? If I’m Steven Gasper’s I would not include the cost from market testing as a cash outflow. The reason is because the cost from market testing was considered as sunk costs. A sunk cost is an outlay that has already occurred, hence by decision under consideration would not been affected by the costs. Since sunk costs are not incremental cost they should not be included in the analysis. In this case initial cost for Blast, $500,000 for test marketing, which was conducted in the Detroit area and completed in the previous June was consider as a sunk cost and it will not affect Danforth & Donnalley Laundry future cash flows regardless of whether or not the new branch is built. 2. What would your opinion be as to how to deal with the question of working capital? Working capital management deals with the management of current assets which are inventories, payroll, and other cash needs and receivables from customers, account receivable, and also procedures financing these assets. In our opinion, have two basic questions involves in working capital policy: (i) What is the appropriate amount of current assets for the firm to carry both in total and for each specific account and (ii) How should current asset be financed. Therefore, the most important element in best buys working capital policy is its inventory management. Refer to the Danforth & Donnalley laundry, McDonald suggest to add another $200,000 in working capital, because they estimate this money would never leave the firm and would always be in liquid form, for the first time; it consider outflow but hence inflow. In our opinion, some additional cash is required to conduct operations in D&D laundry because additional some cash is needed in order to reserve for some contingency, or as a â€Å"parking place† for funds prior to an acquisition, a major capital investment program, or the like. That concept has been applied to more complex businesses, where it is used to analyze the effectiveness of a firm’s working capital management. Under relaxed current assets policy, D&D laundry would hold relatively large amounts of each type of current asset and under a restricted current assets policy; company would hold minimal amounts of these items. Current assets are necessary, but there are costs associated with holding them. Therefore, if D&D can manage its current assets more efficiently and thereby operate with smaller investment in working capital; this will increase D&D laundry profitability. 3. Would you suggest that the product be charged for the use of excess production facilities and building? Would this opinion change under the hypothetical assumption that needed production facilities for the current line of powdered detergents were at 55 percent of capacity and expected to grow at a rate 20 percent a year and maximum production capacity was 100 percent? What would be the present value of this cash flow given the fact that the currently proposed new plant would involve cash outflows of $5 million in three years (assuming that acceptance of the Blast project would not affect the size of the proposed outlay, only the timing, and that the new plant and facilities would be operable indefinitely). (Hint: Assume that the introduction of Blast would only move the need for a new plant ahead by one year, that the cash outflow would remain at $5 million regardless of when incurred, and that the plant would operate indefinitely. In our opinion, the excess usage of production facilities and building would not be charge into Blast. The reasons of this are:- a) When the machine was bought for Lift-Off productions the cost has been calculated; and b) In obtaining the machine and building for Blast productions no cash payment has been made. Since the production of Blast will occupy current excess capacity, no incremental cash flows are incurred; hence, none should be charged against Blast. Would you suggest that the cash flows resulting from erosion of sales from current laundry detergent products be included as a cash inflow? If there was a chance that competition would introduce a similar product were D&D to fail to introduce Blast, would this affect your answer? Yes, it should be treat as an incremental cash flow for the reduction in the sales of the Lift-Off and Wave, referred to as erosion. These lost sales are included because it a cost (a revenue reduction) that the company must bear if it choose to produce the new product (Blast). It will not affect our answer if there was a chance that competition would introduce a similar product at time D&D fail to introduce Blast. This happen due to the fact that for constructs cash flow we ignore the competitor effect. 5. If debt is used to finance this project, should the interest payments associated with this new debt be considered cash flows? No. We discount project cash flows with a cost of capital that is the rate of return required by all investors (not just debt holders or stockholders), and so we should discount the total amount of cash flow available to all investors.

Canada, America, and the Post Industrial Society Essay

The United States of America is one of the global powers. On the other hand, Canada, which is close to America, is also a large country that has a big economy. There are similarities and differences between the two countries. Some of the similarities are language spoken, religion, literacy, GDP growth per decade, and land area. Major languages spoken in both countries are mainly English, Spanish, and French. Major religions in both countries are Protestant and Catholic. Both countries also have the same literacy rate of 99% and the same gross domestic product or GDP growth rate per decade of 10%. Also, the land area of the two countries does not differ that much. Nevertheless, in terms of total area, Canada is bigger than the U. S. Canada has a total area of 9,984,670 square kilometers or 3,855,103 square miles while America has a total area of 9,826,630 square kilometers or 3,794,083 square miles. Canada is bigger than America by 1. 6% of its total area or about 158,040 square kilometers or 61,020 square miles (United North America). On the other hand, some of these differences include total area, population, GDP, unemployment rate, and life expectancy. With a population of 301,139,947 which is 9 times the population of Canada, America has a great advantage over Canada with a population of only 33,390,141. Another difference between both countries is GDP. The GDP of America is relatively higher than that of Canada. The GDP of America is US$ 13. 458 trillion, which is 11 times the GDP of Canada, compared to US$ 1. 287 trillion GDP of Canada. There is also a disparity in the unemployment rate of both countries. The unemployment rate in America is 5. 1%, which is lower compared to 6. 8% of Canada. Life expectancy in the U. S. is also lower compared to Canada. Americans can live up to 78 years while Canadians can live up to 80 years (United North America). The Features of Post Industrial Society Knowledge is a very important factor in our society today. In a post industrial society, everyone relies on information. Hence, exchange of information is highly regarded in a post industrial society. Information is gathered with the use of various data processors, record keeping, market research, etc. As to its economic sectors, the post industrial society is dominated by the tertiary sector, otherwise known as the services sector. Thus, the job opportunities mostly include jobs that offer services. Examples of these jobs are train services and computer services, among others. In a post industrial society, productivity can be seen through the primary sector and the secondary sector because of the contributions of the tertiary sector due to the transition from goods production to provision of services, one of this society’s most important features (Gershuny 1-10). Another significant feature of the post industrial era is that the importance of â€Å"blue collar† comes to dominate the economic world.Knowledge as said earlier is also an important aspect of this society. especially theoretical knowledge (Ritzer 9). Works Cited Gershuny, J. â€Å"What do we do in Post-industrial Society? † University of California, Los Angeles. April 2004. 04 November 2008 . Ritzer, G. The Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists. Maldem, Mass. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. United North America. Similarities & Differences Between Canada & United States. 1 January 2007. 04 November 2008

Recent Basketball-related Research: The Vertical Jump Essay

On a message forum that I frequent, I continually see trainers touting the Vertimax as the solution to all vertical jump problems for basketball players. There are two issues with this: McClenton et al. (2008) compared depth-jump training to Vertimax training and found: Depth jump training twice weekly for 6 weeks is more beneficial than VertiMax jump training for increasing vertical jump height. Strength professionals should focus on depth jump exercises in the short term over commercially available devices to improve vertical jump performance. McClenton, L.S., Brown, L.E., Coburn, J.W., & Kersey, R.D. (2008). The effect of short-term VertiMax vs. depth jump training on vertical jump performance. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 22 (2), 321-325. Carlson et al. (2009) compared strength training, plyometric training, and jump training with a VertiMax and found: The findings of this study demonstrate that there is no difference in vertical jump among strength training, plyo metric training, and jump training over a 6-week timeframe. Carlson, K., Magnusen, M. & Walters, P. (2009). Effect of Various Training Modalities on Vertical Jump. Research in Sports Medicine: An International Journal, 17 (2), 84-94. One issue with the second study is the use of plyometrics, as that has become a colloquial term that has lost meaning (Flanagan & Comyns, 2008). Many plyometrics exercises use the slow stretch-shortening cycle (as would VertiMax) with ground contact time longer than 250 milliseconds and large angular displacements (Schmidtbleicher, 1994), whereas depth jumps utilize a fast stretch-shortening cycle with ground contacts between 100-250 ms and small angular displacements (Schmidtbleicher, 1994). The above results would suggest the need for fast SSC training to improve vertical-jump performance over a six-week training cycle. This does not mean that the VertiMax is without use or a bad product. However, plyometric boxes are a much less expensive purchase that can elicit the same or improved benefits, at least over a six-week training program. Secondly, and of primary importance, McGill et al. (2012) found that the broad jump predicted basketball performance measures better than the vertical jump in college basketball players: Dependent variables of performance indicators (such as games and minutes played, points scored,  assists, rebounds, steal, and blocks) and injury reports were tracked for the subsequent 2 years. Results showed that better performance was linked with having a stiffer torso, more mobile hips, weaker left grip strength, and a longer standing long jump, to name a few. McGill, S.M., Andersen, J.T., & Horne, A.D. (2012). Predicting Performance and Injury Resilience From Movement Quality and Fitness Scores in a Basketball Team Over 2 Years. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 26 (7), 1731–1739. The implication of the second study is to suggest that vertical-jump performance is not of primary performance to basketball performance, and other qualities such as change-of-direction speed, balance, and acceleration likely have more to do with on-court performance. Flanagan, E.P. & Comyns, T.M. (2008). The use of contact time and the reactive strength index to optimise fast stretch-shortening cycle training. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 30, 33-38. Schmidtbleicher, D. (1994). Training for power events. In P. Komi (Ed.), Strength and Power in Sport (381-395). London: Blackwell Scientific.

Communication Barriers Essay

Environmental factors can affect the communication between the older adult and the nurse (Ruan & Lambert, 2007). Some of these factors provided by older adults included not being familiar with the hospital floor, dark rooms, loud noises, the amount of patients needing attention (especially when their illness is severe), visitors and family and the age difference between the older adult and the nurse (Ruan & Lambert, 2007). The age difference could potentially make a patient feel as though they have very little in common with the nurse (Ruan & Lambert, 2007). It is important that nurses recognize these environmental factors because of the significance of the nurse and patient relationship. Nurse Barriers Four key barriers that impact the patient and nurse relationship are recognized in the results of a questionnaire research project (Ruan & Lambert, 2007). The four barriers include â€Å"working without a sincere attitude, showing no respect to elderly patients, being unfriendly, and transferring a sense of hopelessness to the patient† (Ruan & Lambert, 2007). Ruan and Lambert (2007) continue by mentioning that nurse’s focus more on the communication aspects of physical activity, whereas the patients are more attracted to the physical process of verbal communication. Patient Barriers Three key barriers are established throughout the results of the questionnaire. These results include â€Å"not trusting the nurse, being hearing-impaired, and pretending to understand† (Ruan & Lambert, 2007). The number one barrier of communication differs between the nurses and the older adults. The nurses listed the top barrier to be because the patient is not feeling well and forgets things easily, whereas the patients identified the top barrier to be related to hearing difficulties (Ruan & Lambert, 2007). Resources Understanding the risks involving communication barriers, it is important to be aware of the resources available to give patients the holistic care that they deserve. McCabe (2004) asserted, â€Å"Patient-centered communication has been shown to promote patients’ satisfaction with care, as well as their health status† (as cited in Ruan and Lambert, 2008). Mui et al. (2007) state if an individual is not fluent in the language provided by the Health Care Provider it may cause feelings of humiliation and result in not seeking health care. According to ED Management (2012) language support for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) is obligatory by law if the hospital obtains federal funds. It is suggested that a professional interpreter be present throughout the care of a client to minimize the communication barriers that could result in negative consequences (ED Management, 2012). If the professional interpreter services are not available, insufficient clarification and comprehension can be considered prejudiced towards those in which don’t use English as a first language (Mui et al., 2007). Another resource available would be providing the patient with a social worker to further their care. This would allow the social worker to assess additional needs of medical care, mental health, and other services available (Mui et al., 2007). Additionally, Mui et al. (2007) states that the social workers can access other organizations that could provide the professional interpreter. Having a family member involved in the care of the patient allows for improved communication. Badger, Clarke, Pumphry, and Clifford (2012) suggest that family members take the time to write down words and phrases in both their preferred language along with English to assist in communication when the family is not available. In several situations when a professional interpreter is not available, the family will be asked to interpret to provide the health care professionals with more accurate communication (Badger et al., 2012). Northern Health provides an interpreter service in which you request through your general practitioner when you book an appointment (Northern Health, 2013). The Transcultural and Language Services Department (TALS) provide interpreting services, translation of medical content, along with research and education (Northern Health, 2013). Application of Personal Experience After further research, there are several actions that I will do differently when working with a client that uses English as a second language. I strongly believe that professional translation services must always be available in our health care system despite the need for funding. Reviewing the data related to the number of older adults that use English as a second language, it is essential that translation services be implemented. With this knowledge, I will provide my patient with the information regarding a professional interpreter and see if that is an option they would want involved in their care. Included in the information I would provide to the patient would be that â€Å"addressing language needs of older immigrants would reduce linguistic disparities, improve access to health care, and eventually improve the health status† (Kim et al., 2011). I believe that providing education on the reasons why this resource would be beneficial to their overall health and care would allow the patient to find it more incising rather than feeling humiliated. It is my responsibility as a student nurse to provide additional resources in which are out of my scope of support in order to give the best holistic care for the patient. Delivering information to the patient on the further resources that social workers are able to access may draw further interest to the patient. I feel that involving a social worker would be beneficial to anyone’s care despite the reasoning for being in the hospital. For example, the research provided stated that older adults tend to not reach out to health care resources because they feel humiliated. Providing a social worker would then allow further care whether it involved health care needs, financial assistance, or the use of an interpreter.

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 8

Final - Essay Example classical and human relation approaches towards management. The production of goods or varying products was undertaken solely by workers before the industrial revolution. It means that it was the task of the worker to bring different pieces and parts of a product himself without the aid of machinery. However, with the passage of time, machines took over some of the tasks of the workers. Herein, it should be noted that the workers were still responsible for most of the tasks but the approach towards production changed to a great extent. Industrial revolution broke down the production process of a good in various steps. The advancement of technological infrastructure resulted in large groups working together to produce increased amounts of goods in a very short span of time (Lumley & Wilkinson, 2013). Throughout the process of development of production of goods, the nature of work and the approaches to get the work done also changed drastically. Researchers and management theorists also undertook a number of experiments to find out the impact that the change in working conditions had on the working conditions of the employees as well as their motivation towards getting the work done. It was this era when a boom within the exploration of management theories and paradigms was observed. The major purpose of the management theory was to suggest or recommend business giants to strategically make their employees work for the interests of stakeholders. It involved the manner in which they organized the employees and their tasks. At this point, two distinctive approaches of management were found out that were later termed as classical management theories and human relation theories. Before critically evaluating the purpose of the two different approaches of management, a light will be sh ed on the term management theory (Gallagher, 2012). As discussed above, organizations need a road map or a guiding model when it comes to managing the

MLA Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MLA Research Paper - Essay Example ut the story, the readers do not expect that the Jefferson town people will locate Homer’s body lying in bed where it has been for the last forty years. Faulkner poses questions to the readers; â€Å" How would you judge Emily; as a murderer, or as a sufferer?† Townspeople, though characterizes Miss Emily as a very mean and stubborn, but always maintains a curiosity around her. The same is with the readers; liking or disliking Miss Emily is a matter of choice of individual readers; however, no one would be apathetic to this personage. From another perspective William Faulkner uses intrigue and irony to describe the South as he saw during the post-Reconstruction age. Thus, from a societal viewpoint, â€Å"A rose for Emily† describes the dark corner of the southern society. It reveals to the audience how south is rotting from inside out. The same is observed by Michael Bolin (1) in his analysis â€Å"The decay of the south: Duality and containment in â€Å"A rose for Emily†. Any literary analysis of â€Å"A Rose for Emily† will be incomplete without analyzing the protagonist of the story – Miss Emily Grierson; her physical and mental images. Changes of Emily’s mental and physical image present the allegory of the story; decay of the old south culture. Xie Qun (66-69), the associate professor of the School of Foreign Languages of the Zhongnan University of China in his work analyzes Emily’s internal and external changes through the change of her physical appearance. Faulkner describes her physical image through sarcastic comparison. He writes, â€Å"She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water. Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough (Faulkner 1).† It is perhaps Faulkner’s ironic way of describing physical transformation of a slender woman from a young age to an older age. Miss Emily’s mental image is an ironic contribution of her father’s influence over her. Xie

DB Q#4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DB Q#4 - Assignment Example Section 504 contains three alternate prongs based on a three criteria (Zirkel, 2009 P.1, L 3-10). The first prong is for individuals who have; a) a mental or physical impairment that; b) substantially limits; c) a major life activity. The second and third parts are for people who are not currently meeting these three criteria but have a record of or are regarded as meeting the requirements. The office of civil rights (OCR) is the department within the education department that enforces and administers section 504 in K-12 school setting. They are vocal in the interpretation of the second and third prongs in relation to learners. They have also clarified the regarded as and record of points to provide protection against exclusions. OCR has also ensured that students under the first prong are entitled to a free and appropriate education (Zirkel, 2009 P.1, L 11-26). The Americans with Disabilities Act properly covers the deafness disability. It has identified deafness as a condition that substantially limits hearing and also states that hearing is a major life activity. The act has had positive effects on deaf people within public accommodations by ensuring that they are not discriminated against, for example to enter certain premises (Steinberg, 2013 Paragraph 3). The ADA together with ADAAA fails to recognize partial hearing as a disability. Under ADAs definition of disability, the only issue found in people with one deaf ear is that they have difficulty hearing in noisy surroundings. The definition according to ADA means that partial deafness does not substantially limit the person’s abilities, the ruling is evident in the Christine Mengel case (Steinberg, 2013 P.2, Paragraph

Privatization of zain company in kuwait Assignment

Privatization of zain company in kuwait - Assignment Example Getting hold of all the board members to assist in making key decisions was difficult since they also had other government duties assigned to them. The research findings also revealed that Zain’s services changed after its privatization. When comparing Zain’s services between pre and post privatization, the study revealed that the level of satisfaction due to service and product increased. The several categories of service delivery evaluated included: communication to the clients, monthly billing, branches availability and working hours, and the time for service delivery whether it is new subscription or reactivation of the service. The results revealed that the services before privatization were basic. In regard to its services, Zain also increased its investment in software development services, sophisticated modern technology; wireless connectivity services, including 3G, 4G/LTE Internet services and fiber optics after its privatization. The varied products and servi ces brought about by Zain’s privatization were registered in its profits. Some of potential weaknesses experienced during the study that were not within the control of the researchers included time constraints, small number of participants and lack of pre-privatization company sources. As regards to time; time frame allocated for the entire study was not enough to enable the researcher interview all the respondents. The set time was limited; thus, it was difficult for the researchers to meet the employees and the customers, some of which have busy schedules. Secondly, the sample population chosen for the research was small compared to the entire number of Zain’s customers and employees. Lastly, before privatization; the company was owned by the government and was not listed in Kuwait stock Exchange market. Therefore, to access data and get information on the strategy

Bullying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Bullying - Essay Example McFadden is the name of the social worker I was interviewing. McFadden has been working in a local juvenile for twenty years. In the interview, the social worker explained how children who are bullies end becoming bullies. She also outlined some measures that can be taken to prevent recidivism. In the interview, she highlighted some recommendation that could stop the bullying behavior among children. I started the interview by asking the social worker what it meant to be a bully and whether the bullying characteristics are evident in offender. She responded by saying a bully who has aggressive behaviors towards others. She said that bullying has become a growing challenge in the world, but it is more prominent in America. According to McFadden, many people do not understand how serious bullying is. The number of suicides as a result of bullying has increased over the last few years (Sanders, 2004). McFadden said that a person is bullied if he or she is exposed to negative actions repeatedly from others. She highlighted that there were two types of bullying: direct bullying and indirect bullying. Direct bullying is attacking someone publically while indirect bullying is harassing a person by banishing them socially. What I erudite from the interview is that, bullying has a long term effect on the bully if their behavior is not corrected on time. McFadden argued that, bullies have a high probability to be convicted as criminal and more likely be offenders. Bullies display a serious conduct problem and other externalizing behaviors. They are seen to lack self-control and found reckless. The social worker also said that it is evident that children who bully their peers end up becoming offenders later in life. Bullying others at schools is a very high predictor of a child becoming a criminal offender in the future. During the interview, I asked the social worker on the measures

Linguistic Data Collection with Critical Commentary Essay

Linguistic Data Collection with Critical Commentary - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is linguistics, the study of the structure and nature of a language. Traditionally, it encompasses syntax, phonology and semantics. Synchronic study of linguistics aims at describing a language as it appears at the time. Diachronic studies describe a language in its historical development. The philosophers from Greek brought a debate on the origin of language. They were the first in the Western countries to get concern about the theory of linguistic. Thrax Dionysus wrote the first Greek grammar during the first century Before Christ. It was a roman grammar model that led to Renaissance and medieval vernacular grammars. The rise of linguistics historically in the 19th century enabled it to become a science. During early 20th and late 19th centuries, a linguistic structuralist school was set up by Ferdinand de sausure. It allowed analysis of actual speech and learning about the basis and structure of a language. Noam chosky argued in 1950s that, struc turalist program must study native speakers’ competence and not the performance. His approach to linguistic is referred to as transformational generative grammar was revised severally in the recent period to become an extended theory. It is also important to look at discourse markers since they will help in the deeper understanding of the information distinguishing between the right and false information regarding the organization. The paper will examine phonetic transcription whereby real words from the interviewee will give a clear distinction between the previous and the current perception of the Freemasonry. It helps to give clear pronunciation of words by the speaker in order to be understood better. The following lines give the aspect of discourse, 01.15 01:0049 interviewee statements. Data Collecting Techniques There are different methods of collecting data in linguistics. They include participant-observation, interviews, introspection, written data and questionnaires. In the participant-observer, the researcher must be one of the native speakers of the language to apply this method of data collecting (Kontra, 2004). The method can be applicable to this research but, it cannot allow room for acquiring all the required information. Introspection is a method of data co